New Delhi: Prior to the farmers’ ‘Dilli Chalo’ / ‘Chalo Delhi’ protest, the Delhi Traffic Police has sent out a warning to the public. There will be detours at the Singhu Border (Delhi-Haryana), according to the police. One of the requirements they had set when they decided to end their agitation in 2021 was a law guaranteeing MSP for their product. Hundreds of farmers from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh have called for a march on February 13 (Tuesday) to protest this demand. To prevent tomorrow’s massive farmers’ demonstration in Delhi, security has been stepped up around the borders with Singhu, Ghazipur, and Tikri.
Why are farmers protesting again?
Farmers in Noida and Greater Noida have been protesting since December 2023, calling for increased pay and developed plots in return for the land they previously had purchased from local development authorities. In support of these demands, the farmers’ groups called for a “kisan mahapanchayat” and a protest march to Parliament.
Also read: Why farmers are protesting?
Delhi Borders are sealed, Over 1500 police officer deployed ahead of the Mega march
Already, border security barriers have been put in place to prevent farmers from entering the nation’s capital. Roads have been marked with nails so that, according to officials, if the farmers who are demonstrating try to drive into the city, their tyres would get punctured.
There would be between 1,000 and 1,500 Delhi Police officers stationed in each of these border regions. The number of soldiers and the deployment pattern, however, will vary depending on the circumstances in various regions, police sources informed NDTV.
This occurs concurrently with farmers getting their tractor-trolleys ready for the march. As they got ready to go towards Delhi, farmers in Rajpura staged a tractor march.
Today, the heads of farmer associations will be meeting with three federal ministers: junior Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda, junior Home Minister Nityanand Rai, and junior Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. On Thursday, the first round of meetings took place.
200 Farmer Unions with over a lakh farmers will protest against the Centre in Delhi
Over 200 farmer unions are scheduled to start the march tomorrow in favour of a number of demands, one of which is the passing of legislation securing a minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
The farmers are also calling for the adoption of the recommendations made by the Swaminathan Commission, pensions for farmers and farm labourers, the cancellation of farm debt, the reversal of police charges, and “justice” for the victims of the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri.
What does Congress has to Say?
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said “If Congress comes to power, it will issue a notification to withdraw the agricultural laws, the government has only ended the movement, they have not issued a notification”.